Employing labour hire workers

Reduce the number of people getting injured at work and help them return to work as soon as safely possible following injury.

Labour hire company

Before the placement

• Request all host employers to agree to offer suitable duties to your workers, should they be injured onsite.
• Obtain information on the work to be carried out, such as plant and equipment used and the known health and safety risks associated with the work.
• Ensure that your workers are properly inducted to the site and for the work to be carried out.
• Ensure that all workers are supplied with appropriate PPE – supplied by either yourself or the host employer.
• Ensure that all workers are suitability fit to undertake the work and consider pre-employment functional testing for high-risk work.

While on placement

• Maintain regular contact with workers to monitor health and wellbeing.
• Ensure that workers are undertaking work that you have approved and that they are using the appropriate PPE.
• Regularly review worksites to identify health and safety risks.

If an injury occurs

• Support the worker through active engagement with them, host employer, claims agent and medical treatment team.
  Participate in incident investigation with the host employer and ensure that resulting process, policy and equipment changes are implemented.
• Request the host employer to offer suitable duties, as previously agreed.

Host employer

Host employers are responsible for the health and safety of their workers, including those employed through labour hire arrangements.

Your business can face recovery action from ReturnToWorkSA for the costs incurred as a result of a work injury at your workplace.

Before the placement

• Ensure that the labour hire company is registered with ReturnToWorkSA.
• Provide the labour hire company with detailed information on the work to be carried out.
• Agree to offer suitable duties to injured labour hire workers.
• Advise the labour hire company what PPE is required and clarify who will supply it.

While on placement

• Ensure that all labour hire workers have the appropriate induction to site and tasks and are trained to undertake the required work.
• Ensure that labour hire workers are properly supervised to ensure that tasks are completed safely.
• Encourage labour hire workers to identify and report hazards in your workplace.
• Monitor the health and wellbeing of labour hire workers and alert their labour hire company of any concerns.
• Ensure that labour hire workers only undertake work that has been agreed by their labour hire company.
• Allow the labour hire company to regularly visit their workers at reasonable times of the day.
• Ensure appropriate PPE is used at all times

If an injury occurs

• Provide immediate first aid or assist the worker to obtain the required medical assistance.
• Advise the labour hire company of the injury as soon as possible.
• Undertake incident investigation and include the labour hire company in the process.
• Offer suitable duties to assist the labour hire worker to return to work.

Need advice?

If you would like more information about what is expected of you as a host employer or labour hire company, contact riskmanagement@rtwsa.com.